Europe 'Not in the AI Race Today,' French President Macron Says (cnn.com) 30
An anonymous reader shares a report: For a man who's spent his career battling to make France more pro-business, Europe's prospects on AI are worrying: an oversight that could cost the bloc dearly. "We are not in the race today," French President Emmanuel Macron told CNN's Richard Quest in an exclusive interview at the Elysee Palace on Thursday. "We are lagging behind."
"We need an AI agenda," he said, "because we have to bridge the gap with the United States and China on AI." The French leader added that he fears Europe becoming merely an AI consumer, losing control over the future direction and development of the technology. That's part of the impetus behind this week's AI summit in Paris -- the latest effort by Macron to put France at the heart of the debate and decision-making on international questions of the day. Earlier today, Macron announced investment pledges to bolster France's AI sector totalling $112 billion over the coming years.
"We need an AI agenda," he said, "because we have to bridge the gap with the United States and China on AI." The French leader added that he fears Europe becoming merely an AI consumer, losing control over the future direction and development of the technology. That's part of the impetus behind this week's AI summit in Paris -- the latest effort by Macron to put France at the heart of the debate and decision-making on international questions of the day. Earlier today, Macron announced investment pledges to bolster France's AI sector totalling $112 billion over the coming years.
Good, stupid (Score:3, Insightful)
Stay out of the race to the bottom if you value your head being attached to your body, stupid. What the fuck does he think, he's in America?
Re: Good, stupid (Score:3, Insightful)
No, most of them have been inoculated with a narrative which says it's jealousy, and they haven't been exposed to the cure (exposure to other cultures.)
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No, we knew the orange mouth-farter would do this.
Prolog (Score:2)
No shit (Score:4, Insightful)
It was Frenchman who killed EU's nascent attempts at getting into the race too. Everyone's favorite fascist grandma Thierry Breton, the man behind all the anti-speech, anti-communications freedom and anti-AI efforts.
Notably, he was so hated by basically everyone relevant, that the absolutely unthinkable happened. French (specifically Macron's government and Macron himself) actually allowed German head of Commission to kick him out and replace him. This nutbag is the reason for the meme of "America leads the world in research, China in industry and Europe in regulation". He actually had the balls to stand at the signing of the effective ban on cutting edge AI development in Europe to declare that this made Europe great.
But EU elites figured out what kind of fox they actually allowed to govern over the chicken coop, and he was kicked out after he devoured all the chickens. And now, there's no one to lay any eggs. Shocker.
So for Macron to say this shows just how badly Breton fucked everything up.
Re: (Score:2)
My username is not "slashdot". And if you think all users of social media website have the same opinion, you have problems with reality.
Re: No shit (Score:2)
The only people who hate it are under the mistaken belief that automation and human labor are zero-sum, a notion that has been disproven countless times. In fact, neither on their own are zero-sum. Drinkypoo is one of those, hence he labels it a race to the bottom. Rsilvergun commonly goes around arguing that everybody (including himself, apparently) is not ready for it according to some benchmark he can't even define no less, namely because he subscribes to the same zero-sum thinking, even though he doesn'
Get with the Program (Score:5, Insightful)
"Europe's AI agenda focuses on fostering innovation, ensuring ethical standards, and promoting collaboration. The European Union aims to become a global leader in AI by investing in research and development, supporting startups, and creating a trustworthy AI ecosystem12. Additionally, the EU emphasizes the importance of AI that respects fundamental rights and benefits society as a whole". Thanks Copilot.
Irony aside, maybe it'd be better if Europe doesn't focus on AI, as it appears to make people dumber by the minute.
Make your strategy officialy "No." (Score:2)
And save a trillion euros.
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As a European I would rather see that money go into non-profit academic research or the like for the actual betterment of the public.
And if it really has to be AI, support the open source efforts in this field.
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If they insist on tossing sacks of bills into the giant money pit they could just invest in any of the existing companies doing research now with the
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110 billlion euros is too much (Score:5, Insightful)
the players are nearing finish line: AGI (Score:2)
Re: the players are nearing finish line: AGI (Score:2)
"the players are nearing finish line: AGI"
[citation needed]
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Video is not a valid source of "information", it's generously called "entertainment".
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Who is "nearing AGI"? I'll make it even easier, who is "nearing AGI" by the Altman definition?
Wrong approach (Score:2)
It should not be a sporting event where nations and monopolists fight to own the tech
It should be a collaborative, open source effort to make the tech available to all
Making the tech available to all will provide a strong defense against misuse
FYI (Score:2)
Macron's legacy (Score:2)
Macron is correct (Score:3)
"Macron regularly touts the prospects of Paris-based company Mistral, widely considered OpenAI’s European competitor"
I hope they do have something reasonably competitive or France is going to be left way behind in a critical technology. One problem at this point is the building of AI data centers and the acquisition of components for them.
"financing — especially from the United States and the Gulf Arab states — will be key"
One thing France does have in its favor is a lot of electricity. Will that be a sufficient draw for the required $billions in investment? Not so sure.
"We" aren't going to matter. (Score:2)
Feels like a case of 'if your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'. They have no influence and don't want to admit it.